Saturday, April 30, 2016

After the murders on Cielo Drive the killers turned up Benedict Canyon Blvd. to return to Spahn's Movie Ranch. After crossing Mulholland Drive on the crest of the Santa Monica mountains they turned north on to Beverly Glen Blvd. and began their descent into the San Fernando Valley. Soon after starting down the hill Linda Kasabian threw the .22 caliber High Standard Buntline revolver used in the killings out of the car's window. The gun went over the side of a hill and landed on an embankment leading down to the back yard of the Bernard Weiss residence where it was found by son Steven Weiss while he was working on a sprinkler fixture on September 1, 1969. The gun was turned over to police the same day, but no connection was made between the weapon and the murders for over two months.

On tour day the house was seemingly vacant and being made ready for repairs, so we were able to explore it completely, even venturing into the back yard. The house practically abutted the hillside behind it, but someone in a car on Beverly Glen at night would likely not have been aware that there was a neighborhood and houses situated so closely to where the gun was tossed out.

The key impact of both crimes is that Conspiracy to Commit Murder and Felony Murder do not require the defendant to actually kill anyone or even be present when someone is murdered to be guilty of murder. That, of course, rather obviously is directed at Charles Manson.